Slice the Cake
The Man With No Face
Genre: Progressive Deathcore, Symphonic, Jazz, EVERYTHING
Release Date: March 1, 2012
Review
So, I went for a run today. Why? Besides getting in shape, I ran because the final song from this album is 21 minutes long, and what better way to express metal through exercise. But this album, this album....it's something you've never heard before. Is this good or bad? Well, nigguhs, let me explain what Slice the Cake is all about.
First off, I want to add that SLC's first EP, Cleansed, released back in 2010, was a masterpiece. Brilliant deathcore with amazing melodies, brutal breakdowns, and awesome breaks into flowing instrumentals. An amazing EP. So when I first got a listen of this album back in February, it sounded awesome, but could it follow up to the beast that was Cleansed?
The Man With No Face is not just an album. It's a journey, a story. Lets open to chapter 1 and begin.
The album begins with an intro track of just noises. Mysterious ones, but lets move on......We are pounded into a progressive track called "Rational Thinking" which attacks you out of nowhere and demonstrates the bands heavy side. The shortest song on the album, filled with intense blasts and breaks, and it's sick, but nothing too special. So again we move on. "City of Ghosts".....holy shit. This song is absolutely incredible. A progressive masterpiece fuzing jazzy bass interludes and insane groovy riffs to make you wobble. It's amazing. They throw in occasional beautifully melodic riffs and sounds that make you feel right at home, and pound you with their insane Slice the Cake sound. "Time Unwinding" follows bringing even more awesomeness to the table. An insane deathcore track that now introduces us to the amazing clean guitar abilities of these guys, a tool we will see ALOT in this album. Then "Of Gallows" follows perfectly, with a beautiful piano introduction with synths, which drags us into a melodic death metal masterpiece. The breakdowns in this song are sick, and the emotional feeling of the song is one to give you chills. The track introduces multiple symphonic devices....pianos, violins, drumrolls, stuff you'd hear in a movie trailer. We also hear the clean vocals of this band, but what I like about these cleans are that they DO NOT sound like a fucking 5 year old girl. He sounds masculine....just as it should, and it fits beatifully. We move on to "As Written in Pnakotus", which to me, isn't necessarily the best track. Definitely displays talented ability from this band, but puts too many noises and screams that are just....undecipherable. Brought my boner down for a minute or two, and then "Equillibrium" kicked in. Wow. Such beautiful clean guitars and brilliantly original writing....like a chorus of angels this group makes this song. Now, the 6 minute song only has about 2-3 minutes of actual metal, but when you hear this song you will be satisfied, because when the metal kicks in, its so fast, so brutal, and so technical....you just cannot ask for more. Now the next track "The Chasm" introduces insane grooves and djenty aspects, which are so damn sick in this track. It's brilliant. So brilliant. One thing I did forget to mention is the vocals. This guys vocals are so awesome. His growls have a distinct beast to it and fit the style so perfectly. Now for the last track....21 minutes..."The Man with No Face". I'm just gonna sum it up. The song is sick, just like the rest, but its just plain too long. There are plenty of badass STC moments, but 21 minutes get monotonous.
Now, Slice the Cake did something here that no band has done in quite some time. They not only have originality...but every minute of every single track is original. Every one. This album is absolutely genius, and blends so many different elements of metal, jazz, and synth. If you're looking for generic breakdowns, go away. If you're looking for pussy 17 year olds, go away. If you're looking for the usual, go away. And If you're looking for anything short of perfection, get the hell out. This album takes more effort than anything I've heard, and if I could describe this album in one word. It'd be:
Beautiful.
THE VERDICT
The Man With No Face is the only album you'll hear that brings everything new to the table, and yes, in a very fucking good way.
4.5 out of 5
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